Focus

Center of Interest = Focal Point

The center of interest is the same as the focal point. It is the area of the painting that the artist wants you to focus on. Other elements in the picture can subtly lead the eye towards the focal point. Some pieces have one focal point. Some have more than one (a main focus and subordinate ones). Abstract pieces might have scattered concentrations of color and texture instead of a well defined center of interest.

Focal Plane

The focal plane refers to a plane perpendicular to the line of sight where the objects in image are focused. Objects in front of or behind the focal plane are blurred and vague, with their existence being suggested but not clearly defined.

Positioning the Center of Interest

Rule of Thirds

Artists, photographers and designers often use this compositional rule of thumb to position the center of interest in a picture. A piece is divided into thirds with lines, both horizontally and vertically. The points where the lines intersect are called the "eyes", power points, or crash points of the rectangle. The position of any one of the points may be suitable for the placing the main focus of the picture.

The Sweet Spot

If a work is divided in half, both vertically and horzontally, four quadrants result. The center of each quadrant is called the "sweet spot", and these are considered to be safe places to position the center of interest. Geometrically, the sweet spots are a little more towards the edges of the picture than relative to the eye points in the rule of thirds.